


Royalty or Not, I Still Love You

by Daddy_Clarinetist



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders
Genre: Dancing, F/F, Fluff, Genderbending, Genderswap, Kidnapping, Magic, Minor Character Death, Princesses, Queens, Royal Balls, Salt, Witches, masquerades, recluses, royal family, slight instances of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 04:12:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14347731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daddy_Clarinetist/pseuds/Daddy_Clarinetist
Summary: The Sanders Sides now have the opposite gender! There is an explanation of who is who in the notes.A royal ball was held so that the princess could find her true love. However, in the midst of dancing, an evil witch kidnapped the girl the princess has been dancing with. Now, it was up to her and the queen to rescue her, and maybe somebody else along the way.





	Royalty or Not, I Still Love You

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: there is a character death, but it’s not one of the four main characters in this story. There are also mentions of blood, slight abuse, and protective mothers. 
> 
> Roman: Oriana (originality) princess  
> Virgil: Catherine (caution) maiden  
> Patton: Inari (integrity) Queen captured  
> Logan: Rachel (rational) Queen there  
> Deceit: Trina (trickery) villain  
> Thomas: Melinda (mediator) knight  
> Joan is still the same since they are nonbinary

Princess Oriana stood in front of her mother in fear. She had told her mom that she wished to marry someone of her own choosing, something that was the base of many fairy tales. The princess did not want to be in an exchanged marriage with no love. No, she would rather let fate lead her to the one meant for her. She expected the queen to protest, to tell her what the parents of all the princesses in the stories told their daughters. Oriana thought that she would have to fight aggressively with her mom, something she was not looking forward to.

“Alright,” the clear, bored voice of Oriana’s mother agreed.

Oriana looked up in shock. “Alright?”

“Yes, alright.”

Oriana’s eyes lit up. “Really?! You’ll allow me to find true love? I thought you would protest!”

Queen Rachel of the land of Sanders had raised her child on her own. She was an intelligent and inquisitive queen, one who knew what she was doing all the time. Her kingdom always won their wars thanks to her flawless strategies. For all of Oriana’s life, the queen had been alone. Well, that was from what Oriana remembered. She had no idea who her father was, if she even had one that was ever present. Queen Rachel did not like to talk about her past, but she had promised to one day tell her daughter. That day would be today.

“If I didn’t let you choose your own future, I would be very hypocritical,” Queen Rachel explained. “When I was your age, my father wanted me to marry a far away prince who was cruel and merciless. I refused, but he did not listen to my requests. At first, I simply did not want to marry anyone at all, even if that meant that I wasn’t fit to be queen in my father’s eyes. I never felt the need to find a significant other. I was okay with being alone. However, then I met someone special. Eventually, I managed to show him how my love was better for our country, but not until we had a huge fight. I would never try to prevent you from being happy.”

“Who was it that you married?” Oriana asked.

Queen Rachel’s usually blank look softened, showing her true feelings. “I married a woman named Inari. She was so beautiful and passionate. Inari cared for everyone, especially you. We met a witch that let us have you, combining our DNA to be carried by Inari.”

  
“What happened to her? Why is she not here? Is she dead?”

“I have no idea if she is alive or not. She was taken by an evil witch, the sister of the one who had helped us conceive you, and I haven’t been able to find her since.”

“Have you been looking for her?”

“Of course I have been! You know all of those trips that I take to mysterious kingdoms? I’m actually out searching for Inari. I always have people looking, too. Even now, there is a team of knights going to dangerous places to help me.”

“Why did you never tell me about her?”

“I did not want to disappoint you if she ended up being dead.”

“Oh, mother,” Oriana sighed, “I would have rather known about my other mom.”

“Oh,” Queen Rachel said, as if she did not understand these feelings. “I did not know. I thought that I was saving you from sadness.”

“It’s okay, and I promise you mother, I will keep my eye out for anything weird that could do with mom. I will help you find her!”

Queen Rachel gave her a small smile, a rarity. “Thank you, but please do not put yourself into too much danger. For now, let’s focus on you meeting the perfect person. We should hold a ball, one that would allow you to meet all kinds of fair maidens and strong sirs.”

“Maybe it could be a masquerade,” Oriana suggested. “I could get to see the inner beauty in the people I meet first, that way I won’t be overly biased by looks.”

“That’s a wonderful idea! I’ll make an announcement immediately. It shall be in three days, the weekend.”

“Thank you mother,” Oriana grinned. She bowed to her mother, showing her respect, and went off to think about both the upcoming ball and her missing parent.

...

“Hear yee, hear hee! All men and women are hereby invited to the royal ball during the evening of Saturday! Dress in your finest clothes and a mask of your choice, for it shall be a magnificent masquerade ball! Even better, the royal princess herself will be mingling with guests in search of a potential partner!”

Catherine, better known as Cathy, frowned when she heard the news of the ball. She knew for sure that she would be forced to go, something that freaked her out a lot. Cathy was too socially awkward for those types of events, yet she was always expected to go to them with her family. To make it worse, she knew that she would never find someone to dance or talk with. Her siblings said so, and they were proven correct at every party. Cathy always ended up sitting in the corner bored, nobody wanting anything to do with her. Nobody saw what a great lady she was, not even herself.

Cathy liked to think of herself as the normal one in her family. Her mother was absent, as was her father. They left her and her siblings a long time ago, saying that they would come back one day. They have yet to do so, and Cathy couldn’t say that she worried too much. They hadn’t been the greatest during their time with them. Unfortunately, Cathy’s siblings weren’t very great either. Her two brothers and single sister belittled her on every occasion given. It seemed like they took pleasure in her pain. This led to Cathy growing further and further apart from everyone around her, spending more time alone than with people. Soon, she became an absolute recluse when she could get away with it.

Then, events like this ball occured, and Cathy’s siblings always dragged her to them in order to not gain suspicion in their family. They did not want people to know how corrupt their household was. Somehow, they still held hope that the future would get better for them, even though nothing positive ever happened.

Screams came up the stairs at Cathy. She pretended not to hear, but she knew that her siblings knew that she was aware of what they were saying.

“You better be on time to come with us on Saturday! It would not look good to be more than fashionably late!”

“Your outfit better be appropriate! Wear something nice, if you could even call anything you own that!”

“And don’t you dare even thinking about having any chance with the princess! She shall pick one of our brothers as her spouse!”

Cathy knew the drill by now. She had to be exactly what they wanted her to be in public, or else she would surely be cut off from their resources and be forced out onto the streets. There was no way she could survive that.

It was a good thing that Cathy had the perfect dress to wear to the ball. It was the only thing her mother had left behind for her. While her siblings got everything from them, her mother had felt that she should only get what she already owned and this wonderful dress that she had only worn once in her own time of having it. It did fit Cathy’s dark style of clothing. Now, all she had to do was acquire a mask, as it was a masquerade ball. If she showed up without one, her siblings would be furious. It was time for her to actually go out into town for once and find the perfect mask.

Looking back and forth down the hallway, Cathy made sure the coast was clear before sneaking out of the house. Her siblings were home, and she did not want to run into them on the way outside. Once she was out, she headed towards the shops in town. As she walked, people gawked and marvelled at her. It was obvious that people were not used to her coming out. It was very surprising, and they wondered what made her come out of her shelter.

“Catherine!” Someone called out to her. “It’s great to see you out and about!”

“Joan!” Cathy smiled at seeing one of the only people who had ever been nice to her. Joan was a very nice person. They got along with nearly everyone. They were nonbinary, meaning that they went by “they” and “them,” which Cathy was totally okay with.

“What are you up to today?” Joan asked, also surprised to find the young maiden in town.

“My sisters are forcing me to go to the ball on Saturday, so I need to buy a mask to wear. The problem is that I don’t know where to start,” Cathy told them. Her eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. “You work at a clothing shop! Do you happen to have any masks that I could buy?”

“I sure do!” Joan grinned. “However, we should probably go look at them now. They’ll be out of stock soon with the ball coming up. Let’s go!”

Cathy followed along as Joan led her to their shop. It was a beautiful clothing store, filled with all types of clothes for all kinds of people. There were colorful dresses for preppy girls, suits for men who worked everyday, casual t-shirts for those who wanted to feel more comfortable, and even clothing for those who led a more...scandalous lifestyle. Then, right in the back, there was a section that Cathy loved, filled with the color black upon black, only a spot of red or purple here and there.

Joan led Cathy over to a table towards the side of the shop that held a bunch of masks. They were there year around, usually looking quite out of place, but with the ball coming, it looked like it belonged in its surroundings.

“How about this one?” Joan asked, holding up a small mask with many colors. “It’s simple, but unique at the same time.”

“You know that mask is the opposite of my likings,” Cathy deadpanned. Joan laughed, knowing exactly what she was talking about. They picked up a few more masks, showing the hopeful girl, who kept shaking her head.

“This one is very extravagant,” Joan held up a mask that was entirely red. Cathy pretended to puke, which made Joan break down in more laughter. They loved to tease the girl, but they could tell that Cathy was starting the panic over the fact that they weren’t finding an appropriate mask yet. “Wait, I have the perfect one. It just came in with the new stock yesterday, so I haven’t put it out yet. Let me go get it.”

Joan disappeared into the back of the store for a moment. When they came back, they held a black mask up to Cathy’s face, trying to see how it looked on her before she could see for herself what it was like. They smiled softly.

“There,” they said, “beautiful.”

Cathy reached up to take the mask from Joan’s hands. She brought it in front of her, gazing at it intently. It was entirely black, far from simple, but not too extreme to the point where she would hate it. One side had pretty designs just around the eyehole, but the other side had a piece that would go up the left side of the face, stopping up at the top of the forehead.

“Whoa,” Cathy whispered, “this is...amazing. It’s perfect! Thanks so much, Joan, you’re a lifesaver!”

“It’s enough to get the princess to notice you, don’t you think?” Joan pointed out.

“Well, I don’t know about that. Nobody would ever notice me, much less the princess herself.”

“Don’t say that. I think anything is possible.”

“Maybe almost anything, but not that. I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll end up alone for a very long time now. There’s no room in my heart to hope for someone now.”

Joan sighed, sad that their friend had such a negative look on the future. They knew that Cathy would end up somewhere great in life, now they only hoped that she would see it someday too. For now, all they should worry about was getting Cathy to that ball properly so that her siblings wouldn’t lash out on her.

...

Saturday came faster than anyone had anticipated. Guests arrived quickly once the ball started, and soon the dance floor was filled with couples hoping to show off their skills and have a great time. An orchestra played on the stage in the corner of the room. There was a drink and snack bar on a long table away from the dancing. The decorations were simple, yet elegant. The masks adorning everyone’s faces made the placer look truly amazing.

Princess Oriana stood by her mother on a balcony overlooking the ball. She wore a long, red and white dress, white gloves that went up to her elbows, and a very intricate mask meant for royalty, which she was. The mask was mainly white, and the patterns made up the structure instead of it being a single piece of material with it decorated in paint.

Queen Rachel wanted her to wait until more people showed up at the ball before going out to join the ball. Besides, looking down from that height, she was hoping Oriana would spot somebody of interest before going down. That would have made her time much easier. However, nobody seemed to catch her eye, so Oriana had no real destination when she was allowed to head down. She went quickly, in search of the perfect person to possibly fall in love with.

The first few people she ran into were either too young, too old, too vulgar, too boring, too talkative, too demanding, too rude, or she was just plain not interested in them. Eventually, she settled with standing on the sides by the food bar for a bit, talking with those who were around her. She did not want to dance with someone who could hurt her.

As Princess Oriana was standing there, drinking from a glass filled with water, her eyes spotted a beauty standing awkwardly across the room. The girl was wearing a long black dress, simple boots that went with the dress, and a black mask that somehow showcased her beautiful looks even more. Oriana was enchanted immediately, and she knew that she had to go over and talk to the girl. She put down the cup of water she was drinking out of, uncaring of where it would end up later.

Approaching the girl of her interests, Princess Oriana tried to look as friendly and confident as she could. In reality, she was nervous. She wanted this girl to have a personality as amazing as she imagined her to have.

“Excuse me,” Oriana smiled kindly as she reached the maiden, holding her hand out towards her. “I couldn’t help but notice you standing over here by yourself. A beauty like you should be out enjoying yourself on the dance floor. Mind letting me accompany you?”

A blush coated the other lady’s cheeks. She was obviously surprised that somebody had asked her to dance. She glanced down at the hand being offered at her, replying with a small voice. “I’m afraid that I’m not much of a dancer.”

“That’s alright. Just follow my lead. We don’t have to do anything too complicated.”

After a moment of contemplating, the girl shyly took Oriana’s hand, letting her be pulled to the dance floor. Oriana hoped that she chose to dance with her because she wanted to and not because she was the princess. There was a chance that she didn’t even know who she was, since a lot of people from the towns further from the castle did not know what the royal family looked like if they didn’t look it up. She was also wearing a mask and her hair was done differently, so hopefully they could get to know each other better without thinking about who they were in the kingdom.

The orchestra was starting up a new song when they found themselves in the middle of the dance floor. Oriana guided the lady’s hands to her shoulders before placing her own hands on the other’s waist. They had a loose grip on each other, since they were both anxious about being around someone they did not know. Oriana started to lead in the dancing, settling on light moves back and forth to get her partner used to the dancing.

“See,” Oriana whispered, “easy.”

They danced that song and kept going into the next one. Oriana’s partner was getting more comfortable, and eventually the two were twirling around a little bit as well. As they danced song after song, they grew closer and closer, their grips on each other becoming firmer and more confident. They laughed together, having more and more fun as they went on.

There was only one song left, and Oriana realized that she had spent the entire ball with this one girl. Her heart ached at the thought of leaving the girl.

“You’re amazing,” Oriana told her, “absolutely amazing. Please, tell me your name?”

“Are you sure?” The girl asked. “I’m nothing special. I don’t socialize much and I spend all of my time in my room because of how scared I am to be around people. The only reason I’m here is because of my siblings.”

“I’m absolutely sure that you’re the one for me, and I will prove that to you if you would let me. I won’t judge you for your introverted ways. I will even be there for you when you go out, if you want. Please, let me get to know you better. Let me love you. Tell me your name and let me find you again after today.”

The girl’s face was really red at this point. She opened her mouth, about to respond, but she was interrupted by a horrifying crash. A woman came crashing through a nearby window, sending glass everywhere. Luckily, most people managed to get out of the way before they got hurt. The woman who crashed into the window was flying, and she flew right over to where Oriana and her partner were standing in shock. Before they could react, the woman grabbed Oriana’s girl, roughly pulling her away from her.

The girl cried out as she was taken from Oriana. She was confused about what was happening, as she had never seen this woman before.

“Wait, no! Stop!” Oriana shouted. “What are you doing?”

“I will not allow happiness to come to your family,” the woman mysteriously said. “I will not let you have a happy ending when I didn’t get one myself! I will be taking her and you’ll never see her again!”

“LET HER GO!” A booming voice demanded. The crowd was startled as Queen Rachel came storming through the room to where the woman was standing. “Your business is with me, not my daughter. Leave the girl alone and deal with me instead, Trina!”

The woman, Trina, cackled maniacally. “I will not rest until everyone in your family suffers. Now, I must be going. I’ve got a new servant to put to work.”

Throwing the lady Oriana had been dancing with over her shoulder, Trina flew back out of the window, making everyone unable to save her.

Oriana turned to her mother, who was livid over the situation. “Mother, what do we do? I didn’t even get her name. I didn’t get to know if she felt the way I did.”

“I don’t know, my child, I’m so sorry. This just means that my search is more important now,” Queen Rachel replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Oriana, that woman was the evil witch who took Inari. She’s the one who took your mom, and for some reason she’s decided that she needs to hurt my family even more!”

Oriana frowned at the look of misery on her mother’s face. She could feel the same pain in her own heart. Oriana had barely known the girl she was dancing with, but she already felt like she was perfect for her. Now, she was gone, taken right from her arms. She should have done something to stop her from being ripped away. She should have had a faster reaction.

“I promise you, mother,” Oriana said through her anger and sadness. “I won’t stop fighting until I get both of our women back.”

Queen Rachel looked at her proudly, but there was still a sad look in her eyes. “Please do not hurt yourself. I will allow you to help me search, but promise me that you’ll be careful.

“I promise, mother.”

Queen Rachel seemed content with her answer. She composed herself as much as she could before turning to talk to the people at the ball.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Queen Rachel spoke, “I am very sorry for what has happened today. I ask you all to please head on home. We promise that we are going to do our best to find the lady who was taken. If anyone knows anything about her, please come to me while everyone is leaving and tell me anything that could help. Thank you.”

People rushed out the doors, not wanting to be there anymore just in case the evil witch came back. Queen Rachel and Princess Oriana were getting worried when nobody came up to them with any information about Oriana’s partner. They were going to lose hope about getting any helpful information when somebody finally came up to them.

“I know who the lady who was taken is,” the person stated. “I’m friends with her. Her name is Catherine, Cathy for short, and she has already had such a hard life.”

“How so?” Queen Rachel asked while Oriana thought about what a perfect name her lady had.

“Well, her parents left her and her siblings a while ago, and her siblings don’t really care for her at all. That’s why she hides away in her room all the time.”

“Were her siblings here with her?” Queen Rachel wondered.

“Yes, but they were some of the first ones to leave. They did not seem to want anything to do with this situation. I feel bad, but I am not surprised that they left.”

“At least we know who the young woman is now. We’ll need to set out to find her right away, before the witch can get too far. It’ll be harder to track her if we wait any longer. Oriana, change into your armor. We’ll be leaving immediately.”

Oriana nodded before quickly heading off to change. Queen Rachel was going to change as well, but she wanted to thank the person who had given them information first.

“I really appreciate you speaking up about Catherine,” Queen Rachel said. “I wish that I could do more to thank you right now, but I’m afraid that we need to get the search started now.”

“That’s alright, your majesty. If you ever need any more information about Cathy, I’ll try my best to help. Just ask for Joan at Joan’s Clothing and More,” Joan bowed. They then got a thoughtful look on their face. “You know, Cathy was very skeptical about wearing her mask, but I told her that she looked pretty enough to even attract the princess in an attempt to make her feel better about herself. It’s funny how right I turned out to be anyway.”

Joan bowed to the queen, then walked out of the doors of the castle.

...

“Get in!” Trina snarled as she threw the maiden she was carrying into a small cell. “Your work shall start tomorrow morning at six o’clock sharp! You better be ready or else!”

Trina left after threatening the girl. Cathy shook as she picked herself off the ground, finding that her arms were scraped and her knees were bruised from the landing. She was very confused about what was happening, and that witch left her with no answers.

“Are you okay?” A voice questioned, causing Cathy to jump in surprise. Looking over, she found that there was somebody else in the cell with her. It was another woman, one who looked to be around the same age as the queen. She had brown hair that went down to the middle of her back, stunning eyes that reminded her of the woman she had danced the night away with, and very tattered clothing.

“I think so,” Cathy responded. “Where am I?”

“I don’t know where we are exactly,” the woman admitted sadly, but she forced herself to perk up again. “I’m Inari! I’ve been here for quite some time, unfortunately. However, I have a lot of faith in my wife. I’m sure that she’ll break me out of here soon, and you as well! By the way, why were you taken? I could have sworn Trina had a grudge over my family alone. Are you some secret relative of mine that she has taken for ransom?”

“No, I don’t believe so. I was at the royal ball dancing with this amazing woman when I was ripped from her arms by the witch. I’m not sure why, but the queen of the land seemed pretty angry when she saw the witch.”

“That’s because the queen is a part of my family.”

“She is?”

“Yes, Queen Rachel is my wife.”

“Really? I did not know of that.”

“I’m not surprised that Rachel does not talk about me much. She has always had a hard time with emotions. She’s probably more focused on trying to rescue me than she is telling the kingdom about me. They did know of our relationship before I was taken, but I imagine that people don’t really talk about it when they have their own lives. Rachel would also not want to worry her people with this situation.”

Cathy agreed. That did sound like the queen she had heard of while growing up. “So why did the witch take me?”

“I’m guessing that you somehow associated yourself with someone in the royal family and the witch thought you were important to them,” Inari theorized.

“I don’t remember running into any of them, but I wouldn’t know. I don’t know what any member of the family looks like except for the queen.”

Inari thought for a moment, a small smile on her face appearing as though she was thinking of something that made her happy. “Tell me, what was the lady you were dancing with like?”

“Oh? Well, she was very pretty.”

“That’s a good start.”

“She had her hair tied up in a fancy bun, but I could tell that it was very long, probably longer than yours. The color of her eyes mesmerized me the entire time we danced. In fact, they are a similar color to yours. Her makeup was perfect and her clothes did not have not a single wrinkle. Her dress was long and flowy. Oh, and her personality was so charming! Not a single rude word came out of her mouth. She respected me and told me that I looked lovely. She made me feel better about myself than I have ever felt before. Then, there was the mask. It was a masquerade and...wait, my mask! It must have fallen off on the way here!”

“We’ll try to find it when we get out of here, but for now tell me more about this girl.”

“Okay. Her mask was very intricate,” Cathy went into many details about the mask of her partner, trying to get Inari to picture it at least a little bit in her mind. “Oh, and it was the colors of-”

“White and a little bit of red,” Inari interrupted in a whisper.

“How did you know that?” Cathy asked.

“Because that is the mask Rachel and I picked out for our daughter before she was born. We knew that we would want her going to at least one masquerade, so she had to have the best mask.”

“You mean…?”

“Yes! You were dancing with my daughter, Princess Oriana!”

Cathy felt like she was going to pass out. Had it really been the princess the entire time? Why would she be so interested in a commoner like her?

“Are you sure?” Cathy asked.

“I’m positive!” Inari confirmed. “How did you not know?”

“I told you, I didn't know what the princess looked like. Besides, we were too caught up in our dancing to ask names at first. We were about to, but that was when I got kidnapped.”

“Well, I am glad to know that my daughter has found somebody she is interested in. You seem like a very sweet girl, so I’m happy that it’s you.”

“Thanks,” Cathy blushed. “Wait, doesn’t that mean you haven’t seen your daughter since you were taken? How old was she when you last saw her?”

“She barely able to drink out of a bottle when I was brought here.”

“That’s terrible. You must miss her a lot, and your wife.”

“I do. I regret not being there for my daughter as she grew up. I just hope that she can forgive me.”

“I’m sure she will. It’s not like it was your fault anyway.”

“No, I guess not. Here,” Inari suddenly walked over to a plate that was sitting against the wall, “you must be hungry. It isn’t much, but it’s something.”

Cathy thanked her before taking a bite of the potato like chips she had been given. “It needs a little bit of salt, but it’s better than nothing.”

Inari gave her an amused look, finding her words funny. Cathy had no idea why it was humorous, but she didn’t question it. Once she was done eating, Inari spoke again. “We should probably be getting to sleep soon so that we can wake up before six. It’s best that we do not make Trina angry. She’ll just make the workload worse, which is bad for our health since the tasks are so physically tiring. I’m sorry that you’re going to have to do it.”

“It’s fine,” Cathy sighed, “it’s probably best that you do not have to do it alone anymore.”

Inari grinned at Cathy before making her way to one of the small, bumpy mattresses that were pushed against the wall. Cathy took the other, trying not to think about how uncomfortable she was.

...

It was early in the morning, and the search team was still out trying to find Cathy. They had been looking all night, but no luck came about. Most people went home for some sleep, but those who stayed kept trying their best. Soon, they got a positive sign that they needed.

“Your majesty, we have found something out of place that might help us,” Melinda, or Mindy, told the queen. Mindy was the head knight of the royal guard. She was in charge of this very important search and rescue mission.

“What is it?” Queen Rachel asked.

“This was sitting on top of a bush in the woods, your majesty.” Mindy held up a familiar mask.

“That’s the mask Catherine was wearing!” Oriana exclaimed, not sure if Cathy would want her calling her by her nickname.

“Search the entire woods!” Queen Rachel commanded.

“Haven’t you searched these before?” Oriana asked.

“Multiple times, but maybe there’s something we missed. There could be a magical entrance that we’re not seeing somewhere.”

Oriana nodded in understanding before following the knights into the woods. They split up in multiple groups inside, each consisting of at least three people. Queen Rachel, Oriana, and Melinda headed off together, hoping to have some fortune while looking around. The entire time, Oriana kept her hand on the hilt of her sword in case they ran into the witch or some other kind of creature.

“There’s nothing here,” Oriana complained after about an hour of searching. “It looks like nobody has trekked through these woods in hundreds of years, if they did at all.”

“Trina can fly, remember? She could be anywhere that looks inhabited,” Melinda said.

Continuing on, Oriana was starting to lose hope. Trina could have taken Cathy thousands of miles away by now, so why would they be this close by? She was going to give up when she noticed something strange.

“What’s that over there?” Oriana asked, pointing towards an area with thick vegetation. There were vines covering the entire place, making it look impossible to get through.

“That is a very dangerous part of this forest. We have never been able to get through,” Mindy told her.

“Never?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Well, then how do you know that Trina doesn’t live there?”

Mindy was about to respond, but Oriana’s words made sense. It was very possible that Trina had been hiding out there the entire time, making it look like a place too dangerous to pass. Queen Rachel approached the vines, pulling out her sword. Bringing it down, she started to chop through the plants. Oriana helped, quickly followed by Mindy. Soon, they broke through and found themselves in a wide opening. A little ways down the path in front of them stood a large house, completely covered in what seemed to be magical plants.

“I think we found it,” Mindy gasped.

“Oriana found it,” Queen Rachel credited. “It’s a good thing you noticed this. You have a great eye.”

Rapidly, they made their way to the house. They didn’t want to just knock on the door, as that would draw the witch’s attention to themselves. Instead, they found an open window and climbed in.

“We have to stick together so that not one of us gets captured. Which way should we go first?” Queen Rachel asked.

A loud crash came from somewhere to the left, followed by a bout of angry yelling. Whoever was screaming seemed infuriated, as if whoever they were dealing with was incompetent to them.

“I say we go left,” Mindy suggested. The other two nodded, worried for whoever was getting yelled at. They snuck down the hall, trying to be as quiet as they could be. Soon, they made it to a door that was open. They hid behind it and peered silently in.

The floor in the room was covered in clean clothes, all of them looking like they had been folded but were now messed up. A girl sat in the midst of these clothes, looking scared. Trina stood above her, yelling about how stupid the girl was for dropping the clothes basket. Her hand came across the girl’s face, slapping her.

“Hey!” Oriana yelled, mad that Trina could do such a thing. She stormed into the room, ignoring her mother’s warnings and blowing their cover. She would not sit there and watch this abuse to go on, not when the girl she just slapped was Cathy.

...

Cathy didn’t mean to drop all of the freshly washed clothes onto the ground. Her arms just weren’t strong enough to handle the weight of all of it. She had fallen with them, landing in the pile, and that was when Trina walked in. She immediately started yelling, mad that the clothes would have to be refolded. It took time out of Cathy’s already busy work schedule.

When the pain exploded across her face, she had no idea what to think. While she had always had to deal with her siblings and parents not caring for her, they had never physically struck her before. It hurt, especially knowing that the witch above her absolutely hated her for being near the princess.

“Hey!” A voice yelled across the room. Cathy expected it to be Inari sticking up for her, but she was surprised to find that it wasn’t. She watched in shock as Princess Oriana angrily stomped across the room towards Trina, her sword coming up in front of her.

“How did you get here?” Trina was surprised that she had found her way past the barrier of vines. Nobody had ever thought to go through them before.

“She saw past your tricks,” Queen Rachel said as she came up next to Oriana, her sword drawn as well. Another woman came out too, a knight by the looks of it. “She was able to find your hiding place.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Trina replied, “I’ll just kill you here and now! And your precious girl here can watch! Then, I’ll keep her as my servant. I’ll make her wish that she was dead with you!”

Oriana growled before moving forward, swinging her sword forward. Trina used her magic to block her. Queen Rachel and the knight joined the fight. Soon, it was three against one, but the three Cathy was rooting for seemed to be having some troubles.

Cathy didn’t know what to do with herself. She didn’t want to get in their way, but she also didn’t want to do nothing either. There had to be something that she could do. Looking around, she noticed that Inari was standing in the doorway. They made eye contact. As soon as Inari saw that she spotted her, she motioned for her to follow her out of the room. Cathy scrambled into standing, rushing out of the room before the others could notice.

“We have to help them!” Cathy pleaded with Inari. “The witch could kill them!”

“I know,” Inari reassured her. “Don’t worry. Every witch has a weakness. Listen, Trina is mad at my family because her sister helped Rachel and I find a way to have Oriana with our own DNA, even though we are both girls. She used magic to help us. Trina was jealous that her sister would help us because she wanted her sister to be faithful to herself only. So, she killed her sister using her weakness, silver. Every witch has been said to have some type of simple weakness, something that causes their magic to leave them for a certain amount of time depending on how much they came in contact with. Once her sister touched the silver, Trina was able to slaughter her in cold blood without her defending herself with her own magic. It was a very tragic time, but now we have to worry about stopping Trina. We have to use her weakness against her.”

“How do we know what her weakness is?”

“You haven’t been here that long, but think back to last night. What seemed to be missing?”

“What?”

“Think.”

Cathy thought for a moment, nothing coming to mind. All that happened last night was her getting captured and placed in the cell. She and Inari talked for a while before going to sleep. She had eaten some food, which was very bland without salt, but that was all. Wait…

“Salt!” Cathy realized. “Her weakness is salt!”

“Yes!” Inari confirmed, “None of the food in this place contains any type of salt.”

“How are we going to get any?”

“This place gets magical deliveries of food from the magic world, and they always end up sending some salt, as it is mandatory for them. Trina throws it out before anyone can use it against her, but I managed to get it right before the trash was taken last time. I only have the one container of it, so it will have to be used to weaken her the first time. We can’t waste any of it.”

Inari revealed that she had the salt with her. She explained that she had run to get it when she heard the yelling going on. Inari did not want Cathy to get hurt, so she would have used it to defeat her then. Luckily, the others had come and started fighting her, making it easier since Inari had no weapons to actually kill Trina.

They talked it out and they agreed that Cathy would throw the salt on Trina while Inari distracted her from trying to kill the others. They went back into the room, Cathy sneaking back to where she had been sitting on the ground. Trina didn’t seem to notice that she had left before, but Oriana gave her a quick look that showed that she had and that she wished she would have stayed away, but she couldn’t voice her opinion. She did not want Trina’s attention on Cathy.

Inari came into the room as well, trying to get Trina’s attention. “Trina, leave them alone.”

Queen Rachel gasped when she saw her wife. “Inari.”

“Hello, my love. I’m sorry that we have been separated for so long, and I wish that we could be reunited for the rest of our lives, but I have to do this.” Inari turned back towards Trina. “Kill me and not them. Let them leave, please.”

“I will not rest until every single one of you suffers!” Trina yelled.

“Inari, don’t let her kill you, please. I need you,” Queen Rachel begged, something she never did. Inari and Oriana were the only ones she willingly showed emotions for, and she hadn’t seen Inari for years. She couldn’t lose her again. Cathy felt bad for the queen, as she had no way of knowing that Inari was simply distracting the villain.

Inari was about to respond, but Cathy sprung into action before anyone else could speak. Trina was turned away from her, leaving her back exposed. She saw her opportunity and took it. Coming up behind her, she opened the salt container and poured over top of her. Trina screamed in pain as soon as the salt touched her, feeling the magic drain from her body.

“How could you!” Trina howled as she turned towards Cathy. “I will destroy you!”

Trina leaped at Cathy, pushing her to the ground violently in anger. Her foot slammed down on her chest, effectively causing her to lose her breath. She lifted her hand to punch her, but she was stopped by a sword ramming itself through her heart. Blood dripped down from the wound, landing on the floor beside Cathy. Luckily, she was pushed off of her before blood stained her dress, which she was still wearing from the previous day.

“You’ve...you’ve defeated me,” Trina muttered, horrified. Her eyes fluttered for a moment before they completely cleared, showing that she was officially dead.

“Thank God that’s over,” Mindy sighed in relief, pulling her sword out of the body.

Oriana ran to Cathy’s side, dropping her sword on the way. She fell to her knees beside the girl, pulling her into her arms. She noticed that Cathy had tears running down her face, so she let her rest against her shoulder and cry into the skin by her neck. Cathy’s chest hurt from where she was stepped on. Her face hurt as well from where she was slapped. Her mind was very confused, and her thoughts made no sense to her.

“I’m so sorry that you were captured,” Oriana whispered to her. “I should have stopped her before she took you. I should have reacted sooner.”

“No, don’t beat yourself up over this,” Cathy replied through her tears. “You came to rescue me, and I am very grateful. Thank you for not leaving me to the witch.”

“I would never allow anyone to cause you pain.”

Cathy smiled, glad to have the princess by her side, even if they did barely know each other or that she had no idea who she was at first. That just proved that she liked Oriana for who she was inside, not because of her position of power.

“Catherine,” Oriana started.

“Please,” Cathy interrupted, “just Cathy is fine.”

Oriana began again. “Gorgeous, I’m going to try asking you this again. I know that we barely know each other. I know that there is so much that I need to learn about you. Your friend Joan told us that you get nervous a lot, but I am completely okay with your anxiety. I wish to be a part of your life, hopefully forever. I want you to be with me, as a friend and a lover. I won’t ask you for your hand in marriage right away, since I know that we need to spend more time together in order to make it more special, but I can tell you that I see us coming together in matrimony someday in the future. I can feel in my heart that you’re the one for me.”

“Do you mean all of that? Truly?” Cathy wondered.

“I do, my princess, I do.”

“But that’s the point. I’m no princess, not like you are. I’m just a plain recluse from a small town.”

“And I would not have you any other way. I want you, not some princess who might not end up loving me. What I feel is real, and I want that realness to stay in my life. I want to love you and care for you. I want to make you feel like you’re the luckiest person alive. You will be the queen in charge of my life.”

Cathy felt more tears start to run down her face, but this time they were from happiness. Nobody had ever told her such wonderful things before. She grew up being told that she was trash and that nobody would look her way. Now, here she was, in the arms of the freaking princess. Who could have known?

“You’ll love me forever?” Cathy asked.

“Forever and longer,” Oriana promised. “So will you be mine?”

“Yes, and I’ll love you just as long, maybe more.”

“That couldn’t be possible, for my love for you will never be surpassed.”

Cathy laughed. “We’ll see about that.”

Just like that, Oriana leaned forward to press a soft kiss to Cathy’s lips, to which Cathy responded immediately. It was gentle, yet passionate at the same time. Oriana couldn’t help but look forward to every single future kiss that she would get to share with Cathy. Her lips were so soft, and they filled her with many desires.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Mindy suddenly said, causing them to pull away, “but we really must be going. We have to get back to the castle before night falls. We’ve been here far longer than we have thought, and it gets dark fast in the woods.”

“Alright,” Oriana responded. She looked down at her love in her arms, wondering if she would be able to walk. Physically, she would be fine, but her mental state was weak at the moment, so she determined that it would be best to carry her. She secured her in her arms before standing up, holding her bridal style. Cathy brought her arms around her neck in order to prevent herself from feeling like she would fall.

“I can walk!” Cathy protested.

“I would rather you be in my arms,” Oriana told her. Cathy’s face broke out in a bright blush, causing Oriana to awe at her. “You’re so cute.”

“I am not cute! I am vicious and dark.”

“Sure.”

Oriana made her way over to where Queen Rachel, Inari (or should she be called Queen Inari?), and Mindy were standing. She had no idea what to say to her newly found mother, but she did not want to ignore her.

“Hello,” Oriana greeted shly, “mom…?”

Inari looked like she was about to cry. She threw her arms around Oriana, hugging both her and Cathy at the same time. “Oh, my lovely Oriana, how I have missed you! I am terribly sorry that I wasn’t there for you all this time. You’re all grown up and I wasn’t there to witness a single moment.”

“It’s alright, mom,” Oriana reassured her, already feeling comfortable around her. “I’m just glad that you’re alive. Maybe mother will be less of a stoic brick from now on.”

Inari laughed. “I doubt it, but I’ll bring her out of her emotional barricade sooner or later. Now, Cathy, I’m so happy that you’re alright. You did a really great job with the salt. We should probably get you somewhere safe. I’m assuming that you’ll be allowed to stay in the castle from now on. I will not allow you back at your home after all that I’ve heard about your family.”

Inari turned towards Queen Rachel to confirm that they would be able to keep Catherine. Queen Rachel nodded, offended that she would even have to ask. Of course they would allow Cathy to stay. Oriana was falling for her quickly, after all.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Cathy said.

“Then it’s a good thing that I already offered! There’s no asking then,” Inari joked. “But I’m serious, you can stay. I would be honored to call you my future daughter-in-law. I already see you as my child now.”

“Thank you…”

Cathy was very thankful for this family, royal or not. She would be getting out of the torture that was her life. She would be in a better place with people who loved her. Maybe she would finally have parent figures in her life, as well as somebody who would care for her forever like Oriana promised.

They proceeded to leave the evil house, Cathy in Oriana’s arms, Queen Rachel clinging onto Inari’s hand, and Melinda trailing along, trying to carry all of the swords that the others had forgotten about.

...

A year and six months passed since the events that occured after the masquerade ball. A team had been sent to the house of the dead witch in order to retrieve anything they deemed important. All of her magical items and experiments were taken to a lab to be tested on to make sure that they would not cause trouble in the world. Once everything was safe, they tore the house down, leaving the spot in the woods for nature to reclaim.

Cathy was given back her mask, her dress, which had gotten a lot of dirt and holes in it from the work she was forced to do, was fixed, and she was taken to her old home to gather all of her belongings. Her siblings tried to force her to leave certain things, claiming they were theirs and not hers, but she managed to get her personal belongings that meant a lot to her. She was given her own room in the castle, but she ended up staying in Oriana’s room so often that she just moved into there instead. Cathy was having an amazing life with her new girlfriend, one away from pain and suffering, and she could not be any happier.

At the moment, Cathy was in the garden, going through some breathing exercises the royal doctor had taught her in order to control her anxiety. After moving out of her old house, she did not have to worry about abusive words coming at her anymore, so it gave her a little more confidence to not be as reclusive as before. It still took a while, but Oriana helped Cathy get used to a busier schedule and being around people. Now, Cathy loved going outside every now and then. In fact, the garden was her absolute favorite place of the outdoors.

“Cathy!” A voice called out, startling the girl a little bit. Looking up, she grinned when she saw Oriana coming towards her.

“Hey!” Cathy greeted her once she got closer. Oriana had her hands behind her back, a smile on her face. “What’s going on?”

“Well, we’re both free right now, so I thought that maybe we could have a small picnic out here!” Oriana brought her hands in front of her, revealing a large basket that had been hiding behind her. Cathy’s face lit up. She told Oriana that she thought it was a wonderful idea. Together, they spread a blanket on the ground between them and settled down next to each other, their knees touching. Oriana pulled sandwiches, a container filled with macaroni and cheese, chips (with salt), cookies, fruits, bread, and drinks out and placed them in front of them.

“Small picnic?” Cathy questioned. “What about this is small? There’s so much food!”

Oriana laughed. “Are you complaining about it?”

“No!” Cathy reached forward and grabbed a sandwich, taking a big bite out of it. “Ohhh, this is really good! Did Inari prepare these?”

“Yes, but I helped. Try the mac n cheese, it’s delicious!”

Oriana grabbed a bowl and fork from the basket and poured some of the macaroni and cheese into the bowl for Cathy. After taking one bite, Cathy started to dig in faster, falling in love with how good it was.

“Your mom is the best cook I’ve ever met,” Cathy said.

“I know,” Oriana agreed, “I’m so glad I have her now. Mother would never try to teach me to cook. Her food is always so bland since she sticks to an exact recipe and doesn’t try to get creative. Mom somehow makes everything taste amazing.”

“Rachel seems a lot happier now that Inari is back.” Cathy was on first name basis with Oriana’s parents now. Well, they had insisted on it from the beginning, so technically she had always been on first name basis. Inari kept trying to get her to call her mom, but Cathy felt too awkward to do so. Maybe one day in the future she would call her mom. She did already see her and Queen Rachel as mother figures.

“She is a lot happier,” Oriana nodded, “and I am too with you here.”

“You’re such a sap.”

“But you love me.”

“I do love you.”

“But not as much as I love you!”

“Lies.”

They kept trying to convince the other that they loved them more as they were eating, neither one of them giving up. Finally, Oriana decided to end this once and for all.

“I can prove that I love you the most,” she stated confidently.

“Oh yeah? How do?” Cathy smirked.

“Like this.” Oriana stood up and moved so that she was standing in front of Cathy. She held her hand out to her, who accepted and let herself be pulled up as well. Cathy looked confused as she watched Oriana fumble with something in her pocket. Then, she gasped as the woman got down on one knee, holding up a box with a ring in it.

“Cathy, my sweet, grumpy sunshine. My lovely Panic! At the Everywhere who only buys clothing at the part of Joan’s store that resembles Hot Topic. My endearing Incredible Hulk. My dearest emo nightmare. My…”

“Oriana, I get it,” Cathy giggled.

“Right. Cathy, you’ve made the past year and a half the happiest time of my life. I wish nothing more than to grow old with you, maybe start our own family. I don’t want there to be a time where you are not by my side. I cherish your precious life with my entire heart. I love you much more than you can image. That is why I am asking you to become my true princess, my Princess Catherine. Will you marry me, my love?”

Cathy felt her eyes start to water as she nodded vigorously. “Yes! Yes! A million times, yes, I will!”

Oriana slipped the ring onto Cathy’s hand gently before standing up and pulling her into a hug. Cathy had a wide grin on her face as she hugged her fiancée back. Once they pulled away, Cathy pulled Oriana into a tender kiss, one similar to the first kiss they had shared. They poured all of their love into that kiss, still trying to convince the other that they held more of it in their heart.

Cathy was finally getting the life that she had always wanted but never thought she would have. Oriana was getting the true love that she wished for, something she was scared of not happening. They were going to live happily ever after.

...

Bonus:

“Rachel!” Inari exclaimed as she rushed over to where Queen Rachel was sitting on her throne. She had a large smile on her face, somehow even more happier than her usual cheerful self.

“What is it, my darling?” Queen Rachel asked as Inari planted herself on her lap. Inari had her own throne at the right side of her wife, but when the throne room was empty except for herself, her love, and occasionally a guard, she ignored the second throne in favor of the squishy thighs that she adored.

“Cathy finally did it! She called me mom earlier! We were baking some cookies in the kitchen and when they were done we ate some at the table. When we finished, she thanked me for letting her help, using the word in her thanks! She sees me as a mom, Rachel, she actually sees me as a mother figure!”

“That’s wonderful, Inari,” Queen Rachel meant it. She was glad that Inari was able to be there for Cathy when she needed it in that evil witch’s house and then stuck with her afterwards. Heaven knew she needed the motherly support after her own parents had left her.

“You do know that she sees you as her mother too, right?” Inari asked, gazing into her eyes.

“I don’t know about that,” Queen Rachel denied.

“Well, I do know! Sometimes we have conversations about our days and she’ll mention the kindness you show her. It triggers me into talking a lot about how amazing you are, to which she says we’re both wrapped around each other’s pinkies, but that doesn’t matter. What does is that when we talk, I can tell that she views you highly.”

“She respects everyone.”

“Yes, but this is different.”

It was as if fate was in play that day, for Cathy had walked in at that very moment. She didn’t notice that Inari was in there, which made what she said next even more embarrassing for her.

“Hey, mother, I...oops, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what’s up with me today. I apologize if I’ve made you uncomfortable, I…” Glancing up, she paused when she saw Inari there too, who was starting to squeal.

“Awe, Cathy! You just called Rachel your mother!” Inari pointed out.

“N-No I didn’t!” Cathy blushed. “It was an accident!”

“It totally wasn’t!”

Cathy was dying of embarrassment by this point. She couldn’t believe that she had called both of these women her mother that day. They probably didn’t want to see her as a daughter. Well, maybe Inari did, but definitely not Queen Rachel. What was she thinking? Why didn’t she think before she spoke?

“Um, Cathy,” Queen Rachel spoke up.

“...Yeah?” Cathy was preparing for Queen Rachel to tell her to not call her that ever again.

“I wouldn’t mind if you did see me as a mother to you. I would actually be quite...happy if you did feel that way.”

Cathy looked up in surprise. “Really?”

“Of course.”

Inari was fangirling at this point, ecstatic over the fact that her wife and soon to be daughter-in-law were bonding. “And I already told you earlier that I am perfectly fine with you calling me mom! In fact, I encourage you to keep confiding in Rachel and me as your parents!”

“Alright...mom…” Cathy quietly said, still a little bit embarrassed. “And thanks...mother.”

Inari beamed happily, proud. Things kept looking up and up for this family, and hopefully the good times would not end soon.

“By the way, what was it that you came in for?” Queen Rachel asked. “Did you need something?”

“Oh!” Cathy remembered. “I wanted to ask your opinion on this idea Oriana and I had for the wedding, but we weren’t completely sure if it would work.”

From there, they planned, trying to create the perfect day to make their happiness permanent. The idea was extravagant, but when were things not with Oriana? Cathy was hoping that she would dial the extremities down a little bit, but she secretly did not mind. She would only get one wedding, so she might as well go all out!

“Bye mom! Bye mother!” Cathy waved as she left the room after they finished talking. She didn’t notice how she said the words with more power this time. She did not see Inari almost pass out from happiness in Queen Rachel’s arms.


End file.
